Cinema One Originals 2017 Movie Review: Danny L. Zialcita's "Langis at Tubig" (1980) Digitally Restored & Remastered

If two marriages is bigamy, is one... monotony?

Back when the Metro Manila Film Festival wasn't all about the money, but instead about the movies, melodrama master Danny L. Zialcita (T-Bird at ako, Gaano Kadalas ang Minsan?, Nagalit ang Buwan sa Haba ng Gabi) blessed the MMFF patrons with a one of a kind film that made a big impact in Philippine cinema. Langis at Tubig (1980) starring Vilma Santos, Amy Austria and Dindo Fernando is one of those classic romance drama films that tackled infidelity in a whole new way. And last November 14, 2017 at Glorietta Cinema 4, the ABS-CBN Film Restoration has unveiled the film's digitally restored and remastered version, as part of this year's Cinema One Originals festival.

Thank you ABS-CBN Film Restoration for the invitation!

Bobby (Dindo Fernando) is a man secretly in love with his neighbour and friend Cory (Vilma Santos) but who is living-in with her partner Charlie (Ronaldo Valdez). However, Cory decides to leave Charlie upon discovering his deepest secret that he is a married man. This gives Bobby the chance to show his true feelings for Cory and marries her even adopting the child Charlie has left in her womb. Bobby lives the life of a perfect husband with Cory and accepts a job assignment in Albay shuttling to and from Manila to support his new family. In the province, he meets Pilar (Amy Austria) a lovely town girl. His friendship with Pilar blossoms and they find themselves falling for each other, with Bobby concealing his real marital status. Soon the two learn that she is pregnant and the family forces them into marriage. Consequently, the women discover that Bobby is living a lie and is married to two women. He is forced to make a crucial decision, which of his marriages must be honour? Or will he faced the prospect of getting charged with bigamy? Source: Star for All Seasons 

The film's set-up is pretty much simple. We have seen a lot of similarly themed drama films in the past that tackles infidelity. Only here, the man ended up marrying both women. What sets this movie apart from the other is the way the movie was stylized. It stands out among other films with Danny L. Zialcita's trademark: his witty script brimming with quotable quotes like “…handa akong magparaya, kung gusto niya isang linggo sa kanya, isang linggo sa akin. Kung ayaw niya, anim na araw sa kanya, isang araw sa akin. Kung ayaw pa rin niya lahat na ng araw ay sa kanya na." These quotes which were very beautiful and poetic (though a bit campy and cheesy at times) makes every conversation of the characters so much fun and engaging. The way the actors also deliver these lines makes the dialogues believable and acceptable. They are so committed to each character that they're playing. 

I actually loved the way Zialcita shot the scenes when a tension starts to unfold or a revelation is made. They were very campy and it felt like you're watching a telenovela, particularly those zoom in shots to the character's faces when they hear or discover something. Then, there's the crazy sex scenes that ranges from poetic (like Cory and Bobby having their honeymoon in the forest) to downright outrageous (Pilar and Bobby's sex at the hay stack intercut with clips of a fruit being cleaved in half).

All of this couldn't have worked if not for the wonderful cast of the film. Dindo Fernando proved his amazing acting skills here in this film. No wonder he was awarded the FAMAS and the MMFF Best Actor award that year for his portrayal of Bobby. Amy Austria was also good in her performance as Pilar. It was so fun when she started planning on confronting Cory about their husband. She was also able show off her dramatic prowess during her scenes with her emotional father.

Tatay: Ganoon mo ba siya kamahal? 

Pilar: Tulad ng lupa at ng bahay na nakatirik doon. Tamaan man ng hangin, susuhayan. Daanan man ng bagyo, tatayo. Pasukin man ng dayuhan, ipaglalaban. Ikamamatay.

I was so surprised when Vic Silayan showed up in a special role as the judge. It was fun seeing him in other roles since the only movie I recall seeing him was Kisapmata (1981). There's also that hilarious aunt played by Adul de Leon that got everyone inside the cinema laughing. Of course, Vilma Santos will always be Vilma Santos. She was amazing in her portrayal of Cory. Director Zialcita gave her a lot of great moments to shine in this film. She also had the most number of unforgettable lines among the characters. Only Ms. Vilma Santos can throw ridiculously long lines like these but still sound believable and sympathetic.

"...Bobby you gave me hope. You made me a wife. You showed me love when there's only hatred. Ginawa mo ako kung ano ako ngayon, babae."

Regarding the digital restoration of the film, I must say that Central Digital Lab did a wonderful job in digitizing, restoring, and remastering this classic. The picture looks so crisp and stunning in high definition. It was like the film was just shot yesterday. Though there were some parts when the audio sound changed (it was explained early before the screening that they had to use different sources of the audio of the film, including one the version for television broadcast), this did not really affected my enjoyment of the film. We are indeed so lucky that we have organizations like the ABS-CBN Film Archives who aims in preserving classic Filipino films before it's too late. If not because of them, maybe we won't get a chance to get a glimpse of these masterpiece. I definitely agree, we all deserve to watch classic films.

Rating: ✰✰✰✰✰  of 5

"Langis at Tubig" (1980)
Directed by Danny L. Zialcita, starring Vilma Santos, Amy Austria and Dindo Fernando